Where do you go to find information about species? Perhaps you head to the library to check out some books, but more than likely, you go online. The world has transformed the way it finds and consumes scientific information. Just a few years ago, access to knowledge about the world’s 1.9 million species of plants, animals and microorgansisms on one free, trusted website might have seemed impossible, but now the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL; eol.org) is quickly making that dream a reality.

How can one organization possibly catalog life on Earth? By harnessing the collective energy of scientists, students, and people like you! EOL relies on a consortium of over 200 content partners, including the Smithsonian Institution, and more than 50,000 users around the world to compile information on every species. Since its beginnings in 2007, EOL has expanded from 30,000 to more than one million pages.

Technology plays a very important role in getting all the species information to the right place in EOL. Every day, EOL computers gather up information about living creatures that is stored in databases all over the world. These databases belong to our EOL Content Partners, without whom EOL could not exist. These same EOL computers then organize this information by the names of those living creatures. For example, even though EOL gets information about wolves from many sources, it is all organized together in one place to make it easy for you to find (search for “wolf” and see for yourself).

As new content flows into EOL, it is reviewed by experts called “curators” who help maintain EOL’s high-quality information. We also make all of our information freely available for re-use under a Creative Commons license. EOL is a collaborative initiative, and we invite people like you to come to the EOL website to learn about living nature, leave comments, create EOL Collections, participate in EOL Communities, or share your expertise by writing articles, reviewing content, or by becoming an EOL Content Partners.

As EOL grows, we are expanding to become a global community of collaborators serving the general public, enthusiastic amateurs, educators, students and professional scientists from around the world. But we can’t do it alone and we need you to join in this international effort to catalogue biodiversity. We have millions of visitors each year - are you one of them?

Let’s get started! Here are some easy and fun ways to explore EOL and help us build our collective understanding of life on Earth -

04/09/2012

From the thirty-two contenders that began on March 21st, you've narrowed the field down to four division champions. Thank you for your enthusiastic responses and support of the objects about which you want to learn more!

Highlights:

While it breezed past the Hope Diamond in Round 1 and the Monarch Butterfly in Round 2, the Bull Mummy just couldn't move past Titanoboa in Round 3. The Deep-Sea Vent Worms, meanwhile, continued their winning streak as your votes helped them to a victory over the Wood Collection.

Your Division Champs are ...

Who are you pulling for in Round 3? Voting will open later this afternoon, and we'll need your help to narrow the field from 4 to 2!

03/31/2012

After a fast and furious Museum Madness: Round 2, the results are here! Did your favorites make it to Round 3? Were you surprised by any of the new information you learned?

Highlights:

The Giant Squid and the Fenykovi Elephant exited the tournament in Round 2 with losses to Titanoboa and Phoenix. It was neck and neck with the Handaxe Made by Early Humans and the Wood Collection, until the Wood Collection pulled ahead by a single vote!

So who's still in the running after Round 2?

In the Backbones Division we have ...

Phoenix, the North Atlantic Right Whale

Coelacanth

In the Classics Division we have ...

Basilosaurus

Tasmanian Tiger

In the Exhibit All-Stars Division we have ...

Bull Mummy

Titanoboa

In the Wild Cards Division we have ...

Deep-Sea Vent Worms

Wood Collection

Who are you pulling for in Round 3? Voting will open soon, and we'll need your help to narrow the field from 8 to 4!

03/27/2012

You, the fans of NMNH, have spoken and the results of Museum Madness: Round 1 are in! Read on for highlights and find out if your favorites made it to Round 2.

Highlights:

Round 1 got off to a great start with a landslide win by the Megalodon Jaws over the T-Rex. The perennial favorite Fenykovi Elephant then triumphed over the Roosevelt Rhinos, and Martha the Passenger Pigeon handily beat Snarge. The surprise of this round came at the end when the Hope Diamond suffered a narrow loss to the Bull Mummy.

So who's left standing after Round 1?

In the Backbones Division we have ...

Fenykovi Elephant

Martha the Passenger Pigeon

Phoenix, the North Atlantic Right Whale

Coelacanth

In the Classics Division we have ...

Basilosaurus

Tasmanian Tiger

Megalodon Jaws

Neanderthal from Shanidar

In the Exhibit All-Stars Division we have ...

Monarch Butterfly

Bull Mummy

Titanoboa

Giant Squid

In the Wild Cards Division we have ...

Allende Meteorite

Deep-Sea Vent Worms

Handaxe Made by Early Humans

Wood Collection

Did your favorites make it through? If not, who will you root for in Round 2? Let us know and get ready for more voting tomorrow, March 28th!

03/19/2012

Not a basketball fan? Feeling left out of the March Madness fun? Wishing there was a bracket that incorporated your interests in birds, mammals, insects, fishes, and more?

We have the solution for you! It’s called ...

Museum Madness is our version of the basketball tournament - with a twist. Instead of teams competing, we have objects vying for your interest. Would you like to learn more about our iconic elephant or a species of fish thought to have died out with the dinosaurs? Over the next two weeks, you decide what will advance through the rounds and reign victorious.

So who are the contenders?

In the Backbones Division we have ...

Fenykovi Elephant

Martha the Passenger Pigeon

Snarge

Roosevelt Rhinos

Phoenix, the North Atlantic Right Whale

X-ray of a Seahorse

Coelacanth

Great White Shark

In the Classics Division we have ...

Basilosaurus

Burgess Shale Fossils

Tasmanian Tiger

T-Rex

Megalodon Jaws

Neanderthal from Shanidar

Lucy, Our Early Human Ancestor (reconstruction)

Turtle Skeleton

In the Exhibit All-Stars Division we have ...

Hope Diamond

Easter Island Stone Figure

Monarch Butterfly

Bull Mummy

Tarantula

Titanoboa

Korean Bridal Gown

Giant Squid

In the Wild Cards Division we have ...

Allende Meteorite

Smithsonite

Deep-Sea Vent Worms

Handaxe Made by Early Humans

Wood Collection

Scarab Beetle

Invertebrates from the Gulf of Mexico

Modern Human Art and Music

How do you vote and follow the action?

Starting Tuesday, March 20th, keep an eye open where you follow us - Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest - for links to the voting pages.

04/19/2011

One year ago, an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico - endangering wildlife and ecosystems. Staff here at the Museum mobilized on the Museum floor and online to help visitors make sense of this event and its possible effects. Here are a few of these resources:

Left wondering where things stand today? Tune into tonight's webcasted panel discussion (click the flyer to the right for more information). If you can't watch tonight, keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages for a link to the archived video.

01/19/2011

A week from tomorrow, three of our staff will take part in a free online event for students and teachers called Study the Land. Study the Land is the second in a six-part series connecting experts in environmental sciences with you and others around the world - both during these live webcasts and through ongoing connections with Microsoft’s Partners in Learning Network, the Smithsonian Institution, and TakingITGlobal's online community. Put together, this rich array of resources coalesces around themes about environmental responsibility known as “shouts.” These six themes – Live, Study, Change, Sustain, Value, and Celebrate - make up the Shout Learning Project, and as described on its website:

Shout gives participants a framework for success, with resources and tools for exercising social responsibility while building the 21st-century skills of collaboration, innovation, and critical thinking. When students are connected through technology and empowered to build activities in their own way the learning experience extends far beyond the four walls of a classroom ...take your own stand in making the world a better place. Now that’s something to Shout about!

The NMNH staff participating in this second “shout” come from our Botany Department and bring their expertise in a variety of areas including plant conservation, scientific illustration, and systematic biology. Explore their profiles linked below:

W. John Kress, Ph.D., is a Curator and Research Scientist, as well as the Director of the Smithsonian's Consortium for Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet, and Adjunct Professor at The George Washington University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Yunnan [link to his staff bio]

We hope you’re now brimming with questions and excited to join them on January 26th. Don’t forget! Registration is free and only takes a few seconds. Can’t watch it live? Watch the archive, follow the tweets, and join in their Facebook community. We hope to see you there and at future Shouts.